Short Hills Mall’s Insurer May Be On Hook For Fatal Carjacking Lawsuit

SHORT HILLS, NJ — A New Jersey Superior Court judge has ruled that the insurance carrier for The Mall At Short Hills must pay for the legal cost of defending the mall against a lawsuit filed in the wake of the fatal shooting of Hoboken attorney Dustin Friedland in 2013.

In 2013, Friedland, 30, a Toms River resident, was fatally shot in the head during a carjacking when he and his wife returned to their SUV in a parking deck at the mall. Authorities stated that the couple's Range Rover was the target — not Friedland — in the incident.

Authorities have since charged four Essex County men in connection with the shooting: Basim Henry, 33, of South Orange, Hanif Thompson, 29, of Irvington, Karif Ford, 32, of Newark, and Kevin Roberts, 35, of Newark.

• See related article: Four Essex County Men Accused of Deadly Short Hills Mall Carjacking

According to the ruling, the insurance company may be held responsible if a private contractor that provided mall security is found at fault for the shooting, NJ.com reported.

Friedland – an attorney in Hoboken - was pronounced dead following the shooting at Morristown Medical Center. His wife wasn’t injured but also transported to the hospital, the prosecutor's office said.

Friedland’s Facebook page said he was a graduate of Toms River North High School and a 2006 graduate of Bucknell University.

The Asbury Park Press reported that in 1999, Friedland was named Eagle Scout for Troop 29 in Toms River and in 2002, the 19-year-old Friedland posed as George Washington for an America’s Day celebration at the Pine Beach Elementary School.

He competed in the N.J. Rowing Championship in 2001, and as a swimmer, placed third in the Toms River North-Brick Memorial 500-yard freestyle meet in 2000, according to Press files, as reported Monday. More recently, Friedland had been a member of the Hoboken Harriers Running Club.

Friedland, a 2009 grad of Syracuse Law School, was a project manager/estimator at Neptune-based Epic Mechanical Inc., according to his LinkedIn profile.

Photo: Dustin Friedland and wife